Freon air tank

[BoatBuoy]

Friend of mine gave me an empty 30 lb. Freon R-22 tank. Could this be safely used for an air tank to hold say, 100 psi?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Freon air tank

Ayuh,........<br /><br />It's good for the 125/150psi.s that Most All compressed air systems in this country are run at........... <br /><br />Old Propane Tanks are Good to Atleast 250psi.........Way Overkill for a portable airtank.......

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Freon air tank

BB, most tanks now have check valves in them to prevent refilling. Real old ones don't have the check valves.

 

[ndemge]

Re: Freon air tank

I was trying to find out how safe this was,,, I'm finding a lot of places that sell conversion <br />kits, and found this on another site about R12..:<br /><br />So looks like these tanks should be safe for air.<br /><br /><br />On a 70 to 80 degree day, (*) the outlet air temperature should read 40 to 50 degrees. The low pressure gage should read 8 to 15 psi. The high pressure gage should read 135 to 175 psi. <br />• On a 100 degree day the outlet air temperature could read 50 to 65 degrees. The low pressure gage could read 10 to 20 psi. The high pressure gage could read 200 to 260 psi. A reading above 300 psi on the high pressure gage is an indication of trouble.

 

[petryshyn]

Re: Freon air tank

Pressure is not the issue with those tanks. Air contains moisture which will rust through the thin walls in time. There is no internal coating to prevent this, as fresh refrigerant is dry...

 

[Ron G]

Re: Freon air tank

I have 3 of those my uncle made years ago they still work fine.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Freon air tank

I have used a freon tank before as an air tank. If you hook it in series with your air hose, it will act the same as a bigger main tank.<br /><br />Then you can disconnect the freon tank from the compresser, and have a portable air tank. If you are cautious, you can get a few nuts off with an impact gun.<br /><br />Ken

 

[deputydawg]

Re: Freon air tank

My uncle is a refridgerator repair man so I have had many of these in my time. My dad and all my other uncles still have them and use them after 30 years.<br /><br />Years ago on all of my pickups had air compressors on them. I would convert an old air conditioner pump to a compressor for air by adding an air hose to the high pressure side. Use a small cylinder type freon tank and attach that under the hood. Run the wires for the air contitioner compressor to a toggle switch then to a pressure switch. A good pressure switch to use was always ones off of water pressure tanks for private wells. Won't run an air tool but will air up a tire in a pinch. Will also pressurize my home made fuel tank for the tractors fuel.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Freon air tank

Is the valve on those disposable freon tanks welded in or threaded in?

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Freon air tank

Originally posted by schematic:<br /> Pressure is not the issue with those tanks. Air contains moisture which will rust through the thin walls in time. There is no internal coating to prevent this, as fresh refrigerant is dry...

Yup. And under pressure the speed with which the process of oxidizing occurs increases as the pressure rises.<br /><br />The theory behind designing bombs is to move as much air as your can, as fast as you can. A ruptured air tank is moving a lot air, fast, i.e. it is a bomb. I won’t mess with recycled air vessels. They are too cheap to buy and the risk of what happens if you get a compromised used one is too high. If the tank can be hydrostatic tested, get it tested. If it can’t be tested, cut it in half and make a couple of planters out of it.

 

[cajun555]

Re: Freon air tank

BB, the valves are welded in. I believe the check valves were put in use about 15 years ago. If I remember right, if the tank had a black valve handle, it did not have a check valve.<br /><br />Be carefull. I know alot of people have used old freon tanks for air tanks, But they do rust real bad as there not painted on the inside. One day when your putting that 100# of pressure in it that you've always done, KLABOOY.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Freon air tank

The tanks have the backcheck valve built right into the shut off valve. Yes they are welded in.<br /><br />I do commercial work and have presently about 120 of those tanks. I have cut them in half length wise making them into moulds for landscaping blocks. <br /><br />The above is correct, they are not coated and are just bare metal. It is real soft metal at that.<br />There is also a burst/relief patch that is on the tank. This is for saftey. It is designed to pop open if the pressure is too much to prevent exploding. However, if the tank is rusty, it is very possible the tank could burst at lower pressure.<br /><br />For no more than what a portable tank costs with the valve, guage, and hose, it is more feasable to purchase a tank that is designed for it.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Freon air tank

Respondents,<br /> After what I've read, I'm gonna trash this and get a real tank. Thanks all for replying.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Freon air tank

BB,<br />FWIW, NAPA use to sell conversion kits for just that purpose. I don't know why, but I think they stopped a number of years back. I have one I converted 15+ years ago and still use it to day. I figure when it starts to sound like a rattle I pitch it. Least that’s what I was told to do when I was given the tank.

 

[deputydawg]

Re: Freon air tank

My dad has 3 or 4 of them he has been using for over 20 years. My uncle has at least 10 he still uses after more than 20 years, all with no problems. <br />Thing that might help them is they live in a very dry climate, and use a water filter on the air compressors like what is used in auto body painting. <br />Makes me wonder if the tanks have gone down in quality over the years, maybe that is why the conversion kits are not sold now.<br />If I remember the kit cost about as much as a protable air tank anyway, it was just the idea of using junk over again.

 

[NBE]

Re: Freon air tank

I remember we used to cut them in half length-ways, add hinges on one side, cut some old oven racks to fit, and make small portable BBQ grills out of them. They would last several years and were great for small outings.